Download Homework - mengani.com

Name: _____________________________________
Date:__________________
6-4 Document Worksheet
Document 1
In 1804, Jefferson won a second term as president. Shortly after his victory, Britain and France went to war. In
1806, France began refusing to allow British goods to come into Europe. In turn, Britain decided to blockade
Europe—or prevent ships from entering or leaving its ports. By 1807, both Britain and France had seized more than
1,000 American ships.
The British also practiced impressment. This was a practice in which British forces seized American sailors and
forced them to serve in the British navy. In 1807, Jefferson asked Congress to declare an embargo, a ban on
exporting goods to other countries. Jefferson hoped the embargo would hurt Britain and other European countries
and force them to respect American neutrality. Rather than hurting Britain, however, the embargo hurt American
businesses. As a result, Congress ended the embargo. The call for war against Britain grew louder in the wake of an
incident involving Native Americans in the Northwest Territory.
In 1809 General William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory, persuaded several Native
American chiefs to sign away millions of acres of tribal land to the U.S. government. Tecumseh, a Native American
leader, organized a confederacy of Native Americans to fight for these lands. American troops defeated the
confederacy in 1811. After the battle, Americans discovered that the British had supplied the Native Americans
arms. As a result, the two nations grew closer to war.
American anger at Britain steadily grew. Some leaders demanded war against Britain. They were known as war
hawks. They were led by legislators John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay.
Document 2:
James Madison became president in 1808. By 1812, relations with Britain were more strained than ever. That
year, Madison asked Congress to declare war on Britain. Congress approved the war declaration.
Soon afterward, U.S. forces attacked the British in Canada. The war did not go well for the Americans at first.
Then a U.S. Navy fleet defeated the British on Lake Erie. The British took the upper hand again in 1814, however,
when they launched a successful attack on Washington, D.C. President Madison had to flee the city.
The advantage swung back to the Americans in 1815, when U.S. General Andrew Jackson scored a victory in the
Battle of New Orleans. This victory, however, came after British and American diplomats already had agreed on a
peace treaty.
The Treaty of Ghent, signed in December 1814, declared an armistice, or end to the fighting. The War of 1812
showed that the United States was truly independent. The war also increased a feeling of national pride.
Document 1 Question(s):
1. What problems did Britain cause in Jefferson’s second term?
2. How did Jefferson deal with the British problems? What was the result?
3. How did Britain interfere in the Indiana territory?
Document 2 Question(s):
4. Why did Madison have to flee Washington DC?
5. Why was the US victory in the War of 1812 important?
Writing Assignment:
Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following question in the form of a short essay (of
at least one paragraph) using the question answers, documents, claims and evidence from above:
 Inquiry Question: What is the main idea, issue or theme that ties these documents together?
What evidence can you offer to support this idea, issue or theme? (What is one thing that all the
documents have in common? How do you know this?)